Tolerance has always been one of the main problems of the civilized world. We are taught from childhood to be tolerant of each other, to see primarily a person, and not a set of genes and chromosomes. Nevertheless, even in modern times, racism still exists.
Victims cope with attacks in different ways: someone surrenders, someone turns into an embittered cracker. But there are those who perceive the situation not as an obstacle, but as yet another step on the path to happiness. We will not tell you the story of another fall. Meet Keris Rogers, the girl who did it.
Harassed childhood
One day, Taylor Pollard heard a strange request from her younger sister. She asked to increase her bath time to make her skin lighter.
In the first school, where Keris spent one year, almost all the children were “white.” They constantly laughed at the “other” classmate. The teacher did not help either: in one of the lessons where it was necessary to draw herself, all the children received brown pencils, and Keris received black. The other school was no better. Despite the diverse composition of the students, the mockery of the young Miss Rogers continued. She faced colorism - one of the types of discrimination among representatives of one racial or ethnic group in relation to people with a darker skin tone. Nevertheless, our heroine studied there for about three years. No one wanted to know Keris closer, and she eventually began to perceive her appearance as something hated.
In the spring of 2017, Taylor posted on Twitter a photo of her sister with the hashtag “#FlexinInHerComplexion”. Literally: “Bend her complexion” is the favorite expression of the sisters' grandmother, urging girls to feel beautiful.
Thus began the story of Keris Rogers.
Steps to success
The tweet has become viral. In addition to thousands of reposts, the sisters received tremendous support from different users.
Interested people not only felt sorry for Keris, but also gave real advice on how to overcome difficulties. It was then that an idea arose in the heads of the sisters where to direct this energy, uniting so many people. They came up with the idea of making T-shirts with the same inscription, and in April 2017, the Flexin ’In My Complexion project was born.
Starting capital - $ 100. The starting emotional charge is endless. The age of the main founder is 10 years.
The first step is to create a website. No experience was needed here, the network now has enough platforms for this. The second step is Gabriel, the child with whom Erica Rogers, the mother of the sisters, worked as a social inspector. He taught Taylor and Keris to print on t-shirts. The third step is to open a store. The headquarters is located in Erica's garage.
The price of one T-shirt varies from 15 to 20 dollars. Later, the assortment was replenished with bomber jackets, satin pants, overalls and sets of jackets. New inscriptions were added: Coolest Queen in the Universe (“The coolest queen in the Universe”), Coolest King in the Universe (“The coolest king in the Universe”) and The Miseducation of Melanin (“Incredible formation of melanin”).
The sisters run the company together. Keris is immersed in the creative part, and Taylor visualizes her sister's ideas.
By mid-2018, the sisters had sold about 10,000 T-shirts and earned $ 110,000. At the moment, the numbers are not disclosed, but the girls are doing more than well.
The stars came together
Perhaps the business of sisters would not have developed so actively if history had not attracted the attention of celebrities.
In April 2017, rapper Snoop Dogg posted a photo of Keris on his Instagram and talked about her fight. This attracted singer fans and boosted sales.
In June 2017, Lena Waite, an actress, producer and screenwriter, posted her photo from one of the events in a Flexin ’In My Complexion T-shirt.
A month later, the famous singer Alisha Keyes published an appeal to Keris:
I admire this beautiful @kherispoppin girl and I like her mission! Keep shining!
In September of the same year, actress Lupita Niongo also posted on Instagram her photo in a T-shirt with a signature, in which she not only expressed gratitude to Keris for her work, but also actively encouraged those who care to buy Rogers clothes.
Victory is theirs!
Keris Rogers became the youngest designer ever to attend Harlem's New York Fashion Week. She was invited to the famous reality show America's Next Top Model and appeared on the Steve Harvey show. Nike was unable to stay away and shot Keris in her ad.
Taylor has now opened her own Taylor Made Pastries, which works with Flexin ’In My Complexion. The example of a younger sister helped her realize her long-held dream.
Flexin ’In My Complexion is not just a successful startup. Keris Rogers has become more self-confident and helps people of all ages, genders, nationalities and races faced with bullying to love themselves. She knows that she will not let anyone offend herself anymore.
Perhaps my confidence can now be measured at 10 million. It seems she used to be at a negative level.
Keris was only 10 years old when she decided to change the world. Now she is 12, and she continues her journey.